Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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in the Ohio Division I 100-meter dash (10.84), but has run a heat as fast as 10.54. He has a chance to crack the two- deep at corner as well. MOST LIKELY TO PLAY: OFFENSE & DEFENSE Tight end Aliz'e Jones, defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, running back Dexter Williams and safety Mykelti Williams Jones is expected to be a factor at tight end because it is the least experienced unit on the team (one career catch), he arrives as one of the premier recruits at his position and, finally, at 6-5, 220 he possesses a frame that can create matchup problems as a flex tight end. Two other positions of need were run- ning back and safety, and that's where the two players named Williams, from different states, come in. Dexter Williams has a good opportu- nity to be the No. 3 back, behind 2015 juniors Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant, after posting an elite level 131.37 SPARQ (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness, an overall measure of ath- letic ability) score at the Orlando Nike Football Training Camp last spring. There is a need for help at safety, too, which is where Mykelti Williams comes in. At the least, he too can help on spe- cial teams. While the 2015 starters are projected to be senior Elijah Shumate and junior Max Redfield, and Cal fifth- year transfer Avery Sebastian has been added as a stopgap measure, the fourth spot has Nicky Baratti coming off three shoulder surgeries that have sidelined him the last two seasons, while Drue Tranquill is rebounding from ACL sur- gery last November. Finally, with Tillery, Kelly sees a po- tentially dominant figure because of a unique skill set to go with a 6-6 frame that he says is now 318 pounds after enrolling in January. The fact he is in an early enrollee could hasten his rise. "With Jarron Jones out in the spring [recovering from a Lisfranc surgery], he'll get a chance now to step right in there and get a great look," Kelly said of Tillery. If Tillery does not finish in the two- deep at the end of spring, then he would more likely be a redshirt. ON THE BUBBLE Running back Josh Adams, linebacker Josh Barajas, linebacker Asmar Bilal and linebacker Te'von Coney This has the makings to be Kelly's best three-man linebacker haul at Notre Dame, but it won't be easy for any of the trio to crack the two-deep in 2015. At Mike linebacker, Coney does have the advantage as an early enrollee, but returning there are 2014 Team MVP Joe Schmidt, 2014 Sporting News Freshman All-American Nyles Morgan and poten- tial fifth-year senior Jarrett Grace, who led the 2013 team in tackles before a severely broken leg kept him shelved in 2014. Bilal, who played free safety in his state title game, would more likely be at Sam, where James Onwualu returns as the incumbent. Plus, Kelly has said Morgan could be shifted there if needed. At Will, Barajas would find himself behind 2014 Butkus Award finalist Jaylon Smith and Greer Martini, who made a good impression his freshman year with 26 tackles (two for lost yard- age). Freshman linebackers regularly start on special teams, though, so we could